PANAMA CITY — Three area restaurants were temporarily shuttered last month after inspectors discovered pest activity and ill-kept food, while a fourth was closed for operating without proper licenses, according to health inspection reports.

In July, the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations (DBPR) issued emergency closures for Church’s Chicken, 104 S. Tyndall Parkway; Jin Jin 1, 2078 U.S. 98 in Santa Rosa Beach; and King House, 810 N. Tyndall Parkway, upon the discovery of roach and rodent activity. Oishi Thai Restaurant and Sushi Bar, 5614 Lilly St., was closed for operating without proper licenses. All of the businesses corrected the issues that led to their closures and were allowed to reopen, state inspectors reported.

DBPR specifies the inspections are snapshots of a business at that time only. All four businesses currently have active state licenses and are open.

The July incident marked the third time in two years the Callaway Church’s Chicken has been ordered to close because of health concerns. Inspectors arrived about 5 p.m. on July 17 to find numerous hardened rodent droppings under the front counter and on a shelf next to the chicken warmer, according to a DBPR report. In the walk-in cooler, inspectors reported finding about 10 wet rodent droppings.

Also in the chicken warmer area, inspectors reported seeing about 20 flying insects. They discovered four live roaches in the dry-storage area and placed a “stop sale” on three bags of flour and a half case of seasoning contaminated by condensation in the walk-in cooler.

When they returned the next day, officials saw no rodent activity, but visible roach activity prevented them from allowing the business to reopen until 10 a.m. July 19, officers reported.

On two other occasions since 2015, the restaurant has been ordered to close because of roach activity. A woman who identified herself as the branch manager said the business has taken corrective action.

“We have the situation handled and everything is great,” she said, declining to detail what measures were taken to prevent future incidents. “Everything is corrected, and we’re back on track now.”

Blocks north of Church’s Chicken, King House in Callaway was closed at the turn of the month, June 29, when inspectors reported finding two live roaches on a power strip near a triple sink, about seven live roaches on a wooden table next to the make table, one dead roach in a sanitizer bucket and one dead roach in a pot storage container.

The business also had raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food in a walk-in cooler, which included a pan of raw chicken over a bucket of sauce.

The owner did not return a request for comment from The News Herald. The business was allowed to reopen the following morning at 9 a.m. The closure was the first of its kind in more than two years of operation for the business.

Oishi Thai in Panama City was closed July 18 for unlicensed activity. Details of the incident were described only as “non-licensed food service” and “non-licensed business.” The business remained closed until 10:15 a.m. July 21, when proper licenses were obtained, officials reported.

In Santa Rosa Beach, Jin Jin 1 was closed for two days when inspectors found about 12 live roaches on a bottom shelf of a wait station and about 13 live roaches under a large cup above a food preparation table July 13, officials reported.

Inspectors also reported finding five dead roaches at the wait station, one dead roach under the preparation table and two dead roaches on the preparation table shelf. In the walk-in freezer, inspectors also found food — including carrots, mushrooms, onion and spring rolls — stored in non-food grade bags, which is a high-priority offense.

“Upon callback, I observed three live roaches inside the kitchen, along the door molding leading from the kitchen into the dining room,” inspectors wrote during the next day’s follow-up inspection. “Additionally I observed one live roach at the wait station inside the dining room on the bottom left shelf, under the drink machine compressor.”

Attempts to contact a manager of the business were unsuccessful, but DBPR officials reported returning about 9:30 a.m. July 15 to find the issues corrected. The business was allowed to reopen that morning. The issue was the first of its kind for the business, according to DBPR records.

The four closures bring the total to 11 for the year in the central Panhandle counties. The bulk of closures occurred at the beginning of the year, with DBPR going through May and most of June without a closure.

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